She walked briskly toward the car, and could hear the soles of Marini’s shoes treading the ground behind her, in time with her footsteps. She knew he was angry; she would have been angry, too, in his place. It was exactly what she needed from him in that moment: a healthy dose of rage and youthful zeal. Anything would do, as long as there was energy and fervor behind it.

He drew level with her.

“What have I done to you?” he asked.

Teresa feigned incomprehension.

“Why do you hate me so much? Because I was late? I’m sorry about that, but I don’t think I deserve to be humiliated for it.”

Teresa burst out laughing.

“Hate you? I wouldn’t dream of it. As for the humiliation . . . that was all your doing. You could have kept your mouth shut.”

“See what I mean? You’re doing it again! Clearly you have a problem with me,” he insisted.

Teresa slowed done and finally came to a halt. She raised her chin to study his face. He looked exhausted.

“The only thing that’s clear is the extent of your incompetence,” she said. “You don’t agree? Then prove me wrong. I’ll expect your report on everything you saw this morning. And hurry up, you’re late as it is.”

-8-

-8-

The hour of nocturnal predators had come. They emerged from their dens and took flight from their nests up in the highest, hiddenmost branches. Snow cloaked the scents of the forest, nullifying the predators’ olfactory sense, but it also muffled any background noise, so that the sound of small rodents scuttling in the undergrowth travelled clearly to their sensitive ears. The carnivores waited patiently until their prey had ventured into the open, then pounced and slashed at their victims with sharpened claws.

The forest was silent death and unequal contest.

Animals were territorial beings, just like he was. They rarely deviated from their usual routes, so he had been able to learn their ways. He followed their tracks and listened for their calls. When he had to, he hunted. He could turn into a falcon or a fox as needed, and he killed, though he preferred to use traps to limit the suffering he caused when taking a life. The sound of those creatures whimpering in pain triggered a kind of discomfort deep in his core that he could not explain. It made him feel uneasy. He had learned how to bring death: with a sharp twist of his hands, their necks gave way and their breathing stopped.